Issues

Cut the Spending

Whether one is a Social Conservative, Constitutional Conservative, Liberty Minded Conservative or any other kind of Conservative, we can all agree, as James Carville might say, “It’s the spending, stupid!” It’s the spending that is feeding the beast that is eating our Constitution, our Churches, and ultimately our personal dignity. It is not only the fault of George W. Bush or Barack Obama, but it is ours for not understanding the balance of powers: the Constitution clearly states that the House of Representatives appropriates money. The members of the House are to blame! Any family that for years has spent 40% more than it has taken in would have to make deep changes in its behavior. Such a family would cut out all that is not essential for survival. For our country this means declaring victory on the Clean Air Clean Water Act and shutting down the EPA. Doing so will provide the double benefit of saving cash and removing all associated federal regulation burdens. Each of the states has their own agency to regulate the environment, and local governments will best respond to the will of the people. We must shut down the Department of the Interior and give the lands back to the States. Shut down the Department of Energy that has never found a drop of oil or developed any other natural resources, and give nuclear regulation to the Navy. We must also eliminate the Department of Education as they have never educated a single child. They exist simply to control our teachers and bribe us with our own money. These are not radical reforms; they are what any family would have to do when it is broke. We must also demand real, measurable, consistent, persistent improvements in productivity in the public sector.

National Debt

By the end of this year we will have cash debt of around $17,000,000,000,000. But just as real is the $16,500,000,000,000 underfunded Social Security System. Then we have the Prescription Drug Liability of $22,000,000,000,000. And worse yet is the $87,000,000,000,000 unfunded mandate for Medicare. That is a whopping total of $125,000,000,000,000 in unfunded liabilities. Again, Congress spends the money. They have been kissing our babies while selling them into financial slavery. This is real, and it will not end well if we continue to trust Congress to fix it. If you are like the minority of us who have not been practicing rational ignorance, then for the sake of your children, and mine, I ask you to turn with me and work to help rebuild this country. We need a new Greatest Generation willing to make sacrifices for our children and grandchildren.

Growth

There are revolutions going on in the energy industry, the nanotechnology industry, and the biotechnology industry. We can have a new American century of prosperity and growth through manufacturing. The problem isn’t our wages because we are the most productive people in the world. The problem is government agencies choking off our businesses. Half of all the people in the United States are working for the government on one level or another. This is completely unsustainable. We must have a new century of entrepreneurship, and we can if we get government out of the way. Growth is the only way we can keep our financial commitments to our elderly and our creditors. We can do it; we’re Americans. It’s OUR country–not the government’s.

Abolish the IRS

The IRS has been targeting Conservatives and not allowing organizations to be granted 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 status (non-profit, tax-free status). Many of these problems have still not been fixed. The IRS mandates that you comply with thousands of federal regulations, including ObamaCare, which will drive up insurance premiums. We need a fair/flat tax system that we the people can comply with on a single piece of paper as opposed to multiple tedious documents. THE IRS MUST BE ABOLISHED!

Repealing ObamaCare/Defunding ObamaCare

Obamacare is the arrogant takeover of 17% of the economy by bureaucrats who think they can make better decisions than you. It is representative of the complete failure of the establishment of both parties to deal with the current problems in our medical system. While on the one hand we have the best medical care in the world (because we are the most innovative people in the world and we have the best service in the world), on the other hand cost is completely out of control because there are no price signals in the market.

When the Republicans controlled the House, the Senate, and the Presidency, we doubled down on a broken system and gave out Medicare part D without any structural reforms in exchange. We MUST bring price signals into the market as well as freedom for consumers and their families to choose the type of coverage that serves them best.

Audit the Federal Reserve

….and every other part of the government.

Repeal the Veteran Disarmament Act

The Veterans Disarmament Act would place any veteran who has ever been diagnosed with “any” Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on the federal gun ban list.

There is absolutely zero authority in the Constitution granted to the Federal Government to regulate guns.

If guns are to be regulated then they should be done at the State level, period.

Repeal the 17th Amendment

The 17th Amendment is in competition with the 16th Amendment (Income Tax) for the top spot as the worst amendment that has ever been added to the Constitution. However, very few people understand the severe consequences of the 17th Amendment.

Before 1913, Senators were appointed by the State Governments while the House Representatives were popularly elected. The point was to have the House represent the interests of the Citizens and the Senate represent the interests of the States.

The Senators would vote for the interests of their State. And if at any time the Senators wanted to vote differently they would be recalled or resign and be replaced right then and there, no waiting. It was a check on the power of the Federal Government from a separate interest holder, namely, the sovereign States. By allowing the States a direct vote at the Federal level, the purpose of our Federal system was preserved because a balance of power existed between the Federal government and the States.

The elimination of the States’ voices at the Federal level has brought us to a point where the Founders’ respect for States’ rights receives barely a nod in the operation of our nation’s affairs. As a consequence, the size and scope of the Federal government has exploded.

Many people raise the bogeymen of slavery and Jim Crow when we discuss States’ rights, as if proponents of States’ rights intend to bring back the ball and chain or laws enshrining “separate but equal” institutions. Such arguments are absurd. The proponents of such arguments are living in the past and refuse to acknowledge the progress our Nation has made over the past 50 years. Moreover, Supreme Court decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education ensure that the States must adhere to the principles of equal protection and due process set forth in our national Constitution. Such fear mongering has no place in today’s modern society, and we are right to reject it.

Our Country was founded with a rightful fear of centralized power, but we have forgotten the lesson of history that power corrupts. Recent events such as “Fast and Furious” and the IRS’s targeting of President Obama’s political opponents are fresh reminders of this fact. No political system is perfect, but if we’re going to have corruption, let’s at least have it closer to home where we can make our own laws to combat it. Help me send Federal power back to the States where it belongs.

Military

It is time that the country has an adult conversation about the mission of the military. We cannot continue to cut the Navy Fleet budget and yet expand their mission. We are destroying the families of our sailors by keeping them deployed nearly constantly. As noted in the book, The Peoples Money, most Americans think that the military should protect America first. Americans think we should have mutual defense treaties with approximately twelve commonly stated countries: Israel, France, Germany, Britain, Canada, Mexico, etc. Currently we have mutual defense treaties with 54 countries. This is very expensive. We are broke. Things must change. For example, why does the Air Force need its own weather bureau? The software system alone cost $330,000,000. Why can’t the branches of the military share a weather bureau? They must learn to economize. We are broke. All in the government must learn the difference between wants and needs, just like any other organization. And lastly, we should not be occupying foreign lands with U.S. troops unless a declaration of war is issued by Congress.

Second Amendment

We must work to expand gun rights at every turn. I believe in the constancy of human nature. The Second Amendment was meant to arm WE THE PEOPLE to defend against Tyranny. The Second Amendment is not about hunting or protecting your family from robbers. It is about preventing tyranny.

Abortion

Life starts at conception and should be protected under the law. I will fight for the rights of the unborn at every given opportunity. Not every citizen in America is a Christian. Yet as one, I am struck with the fact that to be one is to be a sinner in need of mercy. I believe that the Republican Party should be the party of mercy on this subject. I am completely against abortion and would like to eliminate it. While working in that direction we should have mercy, not only on the unborn, but on the women as well. And we should work to protect them from those who would scar them emotionally and physically for the rest of their lives.